Assassin’s Creed Mirage Review: Baghdad to Basics

The Assassin’s Creed franchise has seen quite an evolution in recent years with a shift from a traditional stealth-action game to a more RPG design. However, while the likes of Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey and Valhalla doubled-down on this direction, the DNA of what made Assassin’s Creed so great in the first place did feel somewhat lost. Assassin’s Creed: Mirage is a return to roots in more ways than one, streamlining the gameplay experience to be like its original predecessors, while also revisiting a period and locale reminiscent of that of the first game — and the result is something special.

While Mirage is (obviously) the newest release, it actually fits second in the timeline of AC games, set after AC: Origins but before the first Assassin’s Creed. You play as Basim (who later appears in the franchise in Valhalla), but we pick up on his story as a young street thief, who is adamant to join the Hidden Ones in order to make a difference to the tyranny he witnesses in Baghdad.

The story is intriguing, and while we’ve always heard and seen cutscenes about the origins and introduction of characters into the Assassin brotherhood, as far as we know it, actually playing through the training, initiation, and evolution has been long overdue. This initial orientation phase doesn’t last long though (don’t worry, you aren’t getting another drawn-out intro like AC3), and you’re quickly thrown into open-world Baghdad with a clear mission: eliminate the wrongdoers in the city and uncover the greater conspiracy going on.

Baghdad as a location is gorgeous too, with the most densely populated and detailed streets in the franchise to date, with street kids playing, goats and sheep blocking alleyways, guards on patrol, and something unique and bizarre to be found on every corner. To use the cliché, the city very much feels alive in Mirage, which actually ties a lot more into the gameplay than anticipated (we’ll get to that later).

Visually, it’s immediately evident that Ubisoft wanted to highlight the fluidity and scale of the game, as the traditional camera perspective has been pulled out a bit, highlighting the environment more and giving you better peripheral vision.

Players are far more agile than previous AC games, where some titles made you feel like a bulky warrior, Mirage really makes you feel like a cat-like thief turned pro-stabber. You can slickly slink through gaps in walls, vault over tables with ease, and scale buildings incredibly quickly, as Basim really does feel ‘in-tune’ with the environment as if he’s on a sand-laden racetrack rather than clambering around a blocky city.

As you traverse your way around the city, there’s a lot to take in. You can pick-pocket civilians with a new timing-based mini-game, where the rewards are great but missing the timing means the civilian spots you and calls the closest guards. Here is where things get interesting.

You have a notoriety meter (which was present in same past AC games, like Assassin’s Creed 3), but this time the NPC civilians play a bigger role than the guards themselves. If civilians witness illegal actions (assassinations, blowing things up, you know the rest), your notoriety goes up, and they’ll point you out to guards when they see you around the city. You can drop your notoriety by bribing and pulling down ‘wanted’ posters, but have to be smarter with how and when you approach things — for example, waiting for civilians to walk by so that they don’t witness you pull off an aerial assassination. It makes it a lot more interesting, as people aren’t just cannon fodder or hiding spots, but potential foilers of plans too, similar to that of the NPCs in Hitman games.

And as for the other key part of any AC game — you know, the stabbing — combat has changed a fair bit. Assassinations are quick and done with one button-press as per usual, but full conflict sees you having to master a parry and dodge system that is signified by different coloured auras on enemies just before they attack. The timing windows are small, but getting them right results in a potential immediate kill, so the risk-reward is very much balanced and makes for a great challenge. Fighting multiple enemies is a whole lot trickier, so you also need to decide when to fight or run, as easily wiping out dozens of enemies in a second is a thing of the past. Overall, combat is something that will likely appeal to both new and old-school AC fans who want something stylish and snappy but also a little challenging.

Missions themselves are a real highlight too, and often involve an infiltration element or bit of puzzle-solving to access tightly-controlled areas. Here’s where you can use mercenaries, distraction techniques, or back your stealth abilities. Planning is key though, and using your trusty eagle, Enkidu, to scout the area, and mark guards and opportunities, feels very Far Cry-ish and right at home in an AC game, again.

Verdict

Assassin’s Creed: Mirage is exactly what the franchise has been needing to remind longtime fans and newcomers about what made Assassin’s Creed so great in the first place. It rests on a lot of the foundations of the most acclaimed entries, but adds in modern twists, streamlines the experience, and eliminates the frustrating elements which crept in over the years. There are the odd sticky parkour moments and some of the in-engine cutscenes seem awkward and out of place, but overall, Mirage is the perfect example of why sometimes less is more, and often better.